Lord Bach: On 30 September 2005, 2,049 1 GB cattle herds had tuberculin tests overdue. Almost 60 per cent of these overdue tests were located in the counties 2 of Devon (358), Dyfed (352), Cornwall (248), and Hereford and Worcestershire (238).
	We initially proposed that the pilot would take place in four animal health divisional office areas (Carmarthen, Caernarfon, Reading and Reigate). This has now been extended to include Cardiff, Exeter, Gloucester, Stafford, Taunton, Truro and Worcester. We will train the same number of State Veterinary Service technical staff. However, the pilot is now focused on the areas where TB is more prevalent.
	Progress with the pilot has been slower than originally planned. However, we still hope to complete the pilot by the end of the summer 2006. We expect there to be around 16-20 approved testers by the end of March 2006 and aim to publish an interim report around this time.
	1 Provisional data, downloaded from the State Veterinary Service (SVS) database on 6 October 2005. Subject to change as more data become available.
	2 Statistics on bovine TB are aggregated according to the office structure of the SVS. As a result, data for the current authorities of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion are aggregated as the former county of Dyfed; and data for the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire are combined.

Lord Adonis: Information available on the number of pupils with hearing impairments in mainstream primary and secondary schools is given in the table. The data show that the percentage of pupils with a hearing impairment in primary and secondary schools is a small percentage (2.3 per cent) of the overall number of pupils with identified SEN(1) in those schools.
	Pupils in special units within mainstream schools cannot be separately identified at present but this information will be collected from 2007.
	(1) Pupils at School Action Plus and with statements of SEN.
	Maintained Primary and Secondary Schools 1 
	
		Number and Percentage of Pupils Whose Primary Need Has Been Classified as Hearing Impairment 2 As at January 2005.
		
			  Pupils whose primary need has beenclassified as Hearing Impairment 2   3  
			  England Primary Secondary Primary and Secondary 
			 Number of pupils at School Action Plus 3,280 3,010 6,290 
			 Percentage of pupils at School Action Plus4 1.5 2.1 1.7 
			 Number of pupils with statements of SEN 2,920 2,300 5,230 
			 Percentage of pupils with statements of SEN5 4.3 3.0 3.6 
			 Number of pupils at School Action Plus and with statements of SEN 6,200 5,310 11,510 
			 Percentage of pupils at School Action Plus and with statements of SEN6 2.1 2.5 2.3 
		
	
	Source: Annual Schools Census
	1 Includes middle schools as deemed. Excludes maintained nursery schools as this information is not available from all such schools.
	2 Pupils at School Action Plus and those pupils with statements of SEN provide information on their primary and, if appropriate, their secondary need. Information relating to primary need only is given here.
	3 Excludes dually registered pupils.
	4 The number of pupils at School Action Plus whose primary need is hearing impairment expressed as a percentage of all pupils at School Action Plus in the same school type.
	5 The number of pupils with statements of SEN whose primary need is hearing impairment expressed as a percentage of all pupils with statements of SEN in the same school type.
	6The number of pupils at School Action Plus and with statements of SEN whose primary need is hearing impairment expressed as a percentage of all pupils at School Action Plus and with statements of SEN in the same school type.
	Totals may not appear to equal the sum of the component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Lord Triesman: At the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) on 7 November, the council reiterated its support for the work of James Wolfensohn, the quartet special envoy for disengagement, and urged both Israel and the Palestinians to reach rapid agreement on the issues within the rapid action plan, including arrangements for Gaza's borders and crossings.
	The council also accepted Mr Wolfensohn's request, on behalf of the parties, that the EU consider playing a third party monitoring role at the Rafah crossing point on the Gaza-Egypt border. At the GAERC on 21 November, the council took a decision in principle to undertake this role and monitor operations at the Rafah crossing point as set out in the 15 November agreement on movement and access between the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Preparations for the mission are developing rapidly and we hope to formally agree, and launch the mission, over the coming days.

Lord Adonis: The latest available data, showing students who graduated in 2003 and 2004, are given in the table.
	
		First Degree Graduates by Class of Degree Obtained, 2002–03 and 2003–04
		
			  Academic Year Total qualifiers 1st class (percentage) Upper 2nd class (percentage) Others (percentage) 
			 The University of Birmingham 2002–03 4,010 10.3 49.9 39.8 
			  2003–04 4,430 10.5 51.3 38.2 
			 The University of Bristol 2002–03 2,755 16.8 56.6 26.6 
			  2003–04 2,860 18.0 55.7 26.3 
			 The University of Cambridge1 2002–03 3,530 32.9 52.5 14.7 
			  2003–04 3,695 22.4 57.3 20.3 
			 The University of Leeds 2002–03 5,715 11.2 52.5 36.3 
			  2003–04 5,320 12.2 55.3 32.5 
			 The University of Liverpool 2002–03 3,075 10.0 44.8 45.2 
			  2003–04 3,240 12.0 43.1 44.8 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 2002–03 1,715 22.7 38.5 38.8 
			  2003–04 1,605 24.7 38.1 37.2 
			 King's College London 2002–03 2,750 11.8 47.3 40.9 
			  2003–04 2,985 13.1 45.6 41.3 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science 2002–03 940 20.2 54.1 25.7 
			  2003–04 1,065 18.7 55.7 25.7 
			 University College London 2002–03 3,280 16.6 50.4 33.0 
			  2003–04 3,500 17.1 47.3 35.7 
			 The Victoria University of Manchester 2002–03 4,205 15.7 48.7 35.6 
			  2003–04 4,620 15.1 50.3 34.5 
			 The University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 2002–03 2,815 10.3 49.4 40.3 
			  2003–04 3,390 10.4 49.5 40.1 
			 The University of Nottingham 2002–03 3,875 13.8 56.6 29.7 
			  2003–04 4,495 13.6 58.0 28.4 
			 The University of Oxford 2002–03 3,275 23.4 60.5 16.1 
			  2003–04 3,225 22.7 63.0 14.3 
			 The University of Sheffield 2002–03 3,980 13.9 53.3 32.8 
			  2003–04 3,865 13.8 53.9 32.3 
			 The University of Southampton 2002–03 3,145 14.9 51.1 34.0 
			  2003–04 3,150 16.6 49.8 33.6 
			 The University of Warwick 2002–03 2,615 20.3 58.2 21.5 
			  2003–04 2,795 19.6 56.8 23.6 
			 The University of Edinburgh 2002–03 3,430 14.0 49.2 36.8 
			  2003–04 3,470 13.8 49.3 37.0 
			 The University of Glasgow 2002–03 3,260 9.0 40.7 50.3 
			  2003–04 3,025 10.7 40.7 48.6 
			 Cardiff University 2002–03 3,520 13.0 55.7 31.3 
			  2003–04 3,415 12.6 55.0 32.4 
		
	
	Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
	1 The University of Cambridge does not award degree classifications for its BA degree, but instead classifies examinations taken at the end of each academic year. Prior to 2003–04, the degree classification recorded on the HESA student record was the best classification obtained, not necessarily that obtained in the final year. From 2003–04 onwards, the classification obtained in the final year is reported on the record and this corresponds more directly with other institutions.